1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to saddles for equestrian use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional saddle has at its underside panels of a compressible structure intended to spread the weight of the rider over the back of the horse. Conventionally, the panels consist of an envelope into which a packing of wool or comparable synthetic material is inserted by hand. In principle, the packing formed by the wool or other filling is intended to conform to the shape of the horse""s back and thereby to spread the load while minimising pressure points on the horse""s back. When a saddle is used only on one horse, the panels of the saddle will, over a period of time, compress and set to take on the shape of the particular horse""s back. However the extent of possible compression which occurs in the packing is relatively limited and unless the saddle tree is shaped to the exact conformity of the horse, pressure points often arise where too much of the weight of the rider is transferred to the horse""s back in specific areas. This results in the skin not receiving sufficient blood flow which reduces the ability of the skin to sweat and if this situation continues for a long period of time it can result in hair loss, sore back, and possible muscle damage to the horse. These problems are compounded when, and as often happens, the saddle is used on more than one horse and whereby the compression needed to properly bed the saddle down onto the horse will not arise.
According to the present invention, there is provided a saddle for equestrian use, the saddle having panels, each panel containing a plurality of sealed air bags and, externally of the air bags in relation to the horse, a packing capable of adjustment, a separate said air bag being at least in a forward part and a rearward part of the panel and each bag in use serving to apply a relatively even pressure to the back of the horse.
Advantageously each air bag is substantially flat and is substantially filled within its interior with a resiliently compressible open cell foam.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bags within each panel are formed into a single unit for insertion into the panel.
Advantageously, the external surface of each bag or of the bag unit carries a lining to prevent damage to the bags during insertion of, or re-packing of, the packing.
Further according to the invention, there is provided a saddle for equestrian use, the saddle having panels, the improvement comprising inserting into each of the panels a plurality of sealed air bags, said bags lying adjacent a part of the panel which contacts the back of the horse whereby the bags provide a padding effect to distribute to the back of the horse the loading arising in use of the saddle, providing a lining layer to shield the air bags, inserting into the panels packing material, said packing material contacting the lining layer, and adjusting the packing material within the panel.